Oh man…I am so glad today is (just about) over! It was my “12-hour work day” with early morning media for our new exhibit, so I’m glad it’s done and we got some good coverage.
In order to bribe thank the people in other departments for helping out with the press, I decided to do some baking. Because that’s a good trade-off for skipping the gym, right? Picking up a pizza and baking cookies? At least I had a big salad last night too, so not all was lost.
I choose this recipe for White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries, because I had all the ingredients on hand and it seemed easy. I used my free sample of Newman’s Own Organics Dried Cranberries, which were perfect.
And I soon remembered why baking should not become a big hobby of mine.
Raw eggs, what? Anyway, I mixed together the batter into a gooey-oatmealy mess. I realized quick I added way more chocolate chips that the recipe called for, but I figured that would only make them more delicious and bribe-worthy.
I had to bake the cookies in two batches, and while the first batch was baking, I stuck the second batch in the fridge because it seemed like it was getting too warmed. I also was afraid that the super-chunkiness of the cookies would leave them raw in the middle, so I cooked the second batch a minute longer. I noticed the second ones browned and spread a lot more than the first? I just figured I’d give people the choice between crispy and soft.
Then I had fun with my new camera. I’m trying to get all the practice I can to get better!
Can you see the difference between the two rows on the left and the others? The left-hand ones were from the first batch.
Of course, I taste-tested one and holy moly were they sweet. Almost too sweet and for me to say that, is saying a lot since I’m of the camp that believes there’s no such thing as a “too rich” dessert. I had one smallish cookie and ran to brush my teeth. But don’t get me wrong, they were quite tasty. I just should have cut the sugar a but. Lesson learned.
My bribe-ees were very happy with the treats, and I was happy to rid my house of white chocolate. I have more cooking and baking to do this weekend since I’m going to a Passover Seder this weekend and I have volunteered to make macaroons and chicken. I linked to the recipes I want to use, if you have any other suggestions (especially for the chicken, I’m nervous!), anything is welcome.
And totally unrelated (riiight) to my cookie post is a question…what do you do when you feel like you’re going a little overboard with your eating? This is “celebration” season around here, and there just seems like there has been more eating out, more “splurging,” more sweets and booze then I’m happy with right now. I mean, on one hand I’m enjoying being a little lax and I’m not binging, but on the other hand, I can see where it becomes a slippery slope. I don’t have it in me to count calories or be overly restrictive (obviously) but I was just wondering if any of you go through stuff like that sometimes and if you have any advice.
Part of my problem is that I think I’m the world’s unhealthiest “healthy blogger” and yet I know that on the scale of normal American eating, I’m probably doing fine. But I just don’t feel great about the choices I’m making, you know? Yet I don’t know how to fix it. P.S. I feel like I talk about this a lot here on the blog…so I’m sorry if it’s Debbie Downer of me.
Ok. That rant might have been partly the sleep deprivation talking. It’s 7:30 and I think I’m going to make a big cup of herbal tea and watch trashy TV until bedtime.
And another question, to brighten things up a tad: are you doing anything fun this weekend? I hope so! We all need some fun in our lives.
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i’m of the “nothing’s too rich” school as well.
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When I feel like indulging a bit more, I do. It usually isn’t too often because it typically happens around “celebration” times as well. I am a big social eating indulger.
And there is no problem with that in my opinion. And I think having some room for foods you enjoy that might not be the top on the health charts is still healthy. Balance and moderation are the epitome of health to me. So I prefer blogs that don’t JUST eat veggies all day every day. I think it is more realistic and balanced to have indulgences. I know I do.
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drool. that doughy gooey goodness just got to me.
when i get off track i just start tracking my eats on a website and make sure to keep away from marshall’s cereal.. haha
xoxo
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Those cookies look sooooo good. Cranberries and white chocolate are such a fab combo. I know nothing about baking though, so I’m curious why the second batch turned out different too. I know a lot of cookie recipes ask you to chill the dough in the fridge first too…
Don’t worry about being a Debbie Downer! We all get those feelings of over-indulgence and going off the track. It helps to pick certain “splurge-worthy” days. If I know I have a week of celebrations coming up, I pick one or two days where I won’t stress about what I eat, and then try to keep the rest normal. If that fails, then I just make sure to exercise. If anything else, I always know that the celebratory period will end soon enough and I WILL get back into my better habits. My weight bounces up and down a lot, and it’s not rare for me to gain 5 legitimate pounds after a few weeks of splurging. But I find the “getting back on track” part after is kinda fun!
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You’re definitely not the world’s unhealthiest healthy food blogger! I think everyone feels like that at some point.
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[...] cake that is now staring (literally) me in the face in the kitchen and…yeah…I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned some “indulgent” eating times ahead (p.s. I don’t like the connotation of words like [...]